Sable Dreams
by Kouryou Sanomi
Summary: For Sable, being a herald trainee isn't easy. Especially when you have to deal with lingering memories of rape, being shaych, and having a friend who just wants to get into your pants. [discontinued]
1. I

Mwahahahaha another story! *cackles evilly* I should be finishing my other ones but no! OHOHOHOHO! 

::The world of Valdemar belongs to Mercedes Lackey, and not me, sadly. But my original characters like Sable, Kav, Jeren, Bryna, Maun, and Sani belong to me! :D ::

:...::SABLE DREAMS::...:

~by Sanomi~

CHAPTER ONE

Horse manure did not smell good. Although, that was a given, considering where it came from. But it still stank. Of course, Sable was used to it at that point, as his only reprieve from -- _Jeren _-- was to clean out the stables. It was too lowly a job for the older boy to attempt, and the smell was too strong for his "delicate disposition."

Sable snorted. Right. Jeren was delicate, and he was herald. He rather thought they were both about as likely as happening.

So he mucked about in the stables, glad for the wide windows that faced the outside. Not only did they let in fresh air, but also made Jeren think twice about cornering him and -- never mind.

All it meant was that he had to make sure he was never alone in dark or shadowy places. Like reading in one of the storage rooms. That was a mistake Sable would never repeat. Of course, that reduced his reading time and often earned him bruises for daydreaming when there was work to be done, but after four years he was used to it. Besides it helped cut down the--the bad thing.

Sable shrugged philosophically. There wasn't anything he could do except avoid it. He was still too little to fight...

Looking morosely at his thin, wiry frame he sighed. He was still short, skinny, and far too tiny to do any damage. At fifteen, at least he didn't look as feminine as he used to. With long black hair, an elfin face, and large, innocent-seeming black eyes, things had been a lot worse before his voice had deepened and his shoulders had gotten broader.

But the exchange had been that he was so damned _hungry_ all the time! Sable distinctly remembered the innkeeper's wife cooing over Jeren when _he_ got _his_ growth spurt, and giving him extra portions; no such thing forthcoming for Sable.

Oh, they weren't _starving_ him, but as far as he could remember he'd never had gotten to eat as much as he'd wanted, even before he started growing rapidly.

Not that his mother cared. Although to be fair, Bryna was often busy helping out at the inn. He snorted again. Yeah, rendering her "services" to any man with a coin or two. What a loose-skirt.

A fact Jeren loved to parade around in front of him, although he never hesitated to fawn over his elder sister when she was present. Sable's lip curled in disgust. His uncle was only four years older than him, 19, yet Jeren seemed to be everything Sable wasn't. A conscientious employee at the inn, loving brother, hardworking, trustworthy, yadda yadda.

Never mind that it was Sable who did most of the work. And who cared if Sable got the brunt of Jeren's truly sadistic nature? No one did, that's who. Because Jeren was so damned perfect, it was inconceivable that he would do such a thing.

He forked hay into a stall with considerable more force then needed. _Face it, Sable_, he told himself pessimistically. _It's a pitiful excuse for a life, and there's no reason to think it'll get any better._

He sighed again. Wasn't THAT just the whole truth...

A whicker interrupted his thinking.

He turned to see a shining white horse standing at the stable entrance patiently. A Companion? There didn't seem to be a herald anywhere near. That was unusual; most heralds preferred to tend to their Companions themselves. Well, perhaps the herald wasn't feeling very good, and the Companion sent its herald off to the common room to get a remedy. He decided that must be it. 

Sable knew very well that Companions were intelligent, thinking beings. The inn was only about half a day's ride from Haven, so they got a lot of Heralds-plus-Companions staying over before making the last lap back home. 

He bowed politely. "Lord -- or lady -- Would you like me to set you up in a stall, as your herald seems otherwise occupied?"

The Companion tossed its head and looked at him with amusement.

Stiffening, he said defensively, "Just because I'm small, doesn't mean I don't know what I'm doing!" It snorted in response. "Well then what is it?"

It stepped closer to him, hooves chiming against the cobblestone floor. The Companion didn't stop until it stood nearly nose-to-nose with him. He backed up a step. The seeming-horse went forward a step. He backed up again, and felt his back his a stall door. The Companion took another step forward. "What do you want?" Sable demanded, starting to get worried.

It turned its head to look at him with a great deal of amusement. Sable got the disconcerting impression that if it had lips, it would be smirking. The Companion closed the distance between them and he squeezed his eyes shut, only to open them again when he felt the not-horse lip his shirt contentedly. He blinked. "My, you are one strange Companion."

It whickered in agreement.

He scowled. "That wasn't meant to be a compliment." The Companion whickered again, this time sounding like a laugh.

"Talking to yourself, dreamer?" A familiar drawl came from the stable entrance. He glanced at Jeren's careless lounge against the door. "Have you finally cracked?"

Sable froze. _Him!_ Not daring to make a sound, he gestured to the Companion.

Jeren raised an eyebrow. "Talking to a _horse_? How terribly simple minded of you. Of course, that's only to be expected from a simpleton dreamer like you." He stepped inside, eyes alighting on an object hanging on the wall. Jeren took down the whip and started uncoiling it without looking away from his nephew.

"It's a _Companion_." Sable told the older boy. He didn't even bother defending himself, knowing that it wouldn't make a difference. He did eye the whip and step sideways, away from the companion in case Jeren's accuracy wasn't as good as he bragged.

"Doesn't matter," his uncle said easily. "You must still be punished." His hand flashed and pain blossomed in Sable's cheek. "I like whips," he said with a cruel smile. "Don't you?" Again the whip lashed out, this time cutting his bottom lip.

The younger boy felt sick. It had been, what, a month, since the last time Jeren had wanted this much. He had seemed to be satisfied with verbal taunts and an occasional cuff for 'disobedience.' Sable had almost begun to dare to hope that the older boy had lost interest in his sadistic torture.

No such luck.

"Y-you can't -- n-n-not here!" he said desperately, knowing it was futile.

"Thinking you could hide from me here?" Jeren laughed. "I don't think so."

Hope died in Sable's heart. This was what his life would always be like; nothing but Jeren's play toy; used and abused by others. He would be lucky if he lived past twenty.

But it might be a kindness not to live much longer. His only thought was that his death would be very painful.

The expression on Jeren's face suddenly changed from cruelly cheerful to one of extreme pain.

They had both forgotten about the companion.

It had a mouthful of his uncle's arm. In what seemed to be a tight grip. Tight enough to crunch, in fact, unless bones did that naturally without Sable knowing. And there seemed to be blood staining the other boy's tunic. Oh my.

The companion looked truly enraged. Enough so, in fact, that it was beginning to frighten Sable.

"H-hey you can let him go now--Ah! No--don't shake him! Havens, please stop! You'll be gone tomorrow, and he'll take it out on my hide-- let him go--" Sable tried to make himself audible over Jeren's screaming.

The companion let go of Jeren, who crumpled into moaning puddle on the floor, and bared its teeth at Sable, as if to say 'only because you asked me to.'

"Um. Thank you for defending me. No one's -- no one's ever done that for me."

It snorted and shoved him with its nose. He was so surprised he lost his balance and fell to the ground. "Hey-- that's not very nice!" 

Sable sat up and found himself falling into pools of sapphire. He was drowning in it, and hoped he was never saved. It was as if a part of him that he had never known was missing had returned to him. Like missing an arm, only not knowing it was gone, but then suddenly getting it back and all of a sudden there were so many things you could do with your new arm. Only even better, because he knew he would never be a alone again. No one would ever hurt him again. He was complete.

_:Sable of Valdemar, you are my chosen.:_

He flung his arms around Afodel's neck, and he knew that the companion--_his_ companion-- was named Afodel and she was the bravest, most wonderful companion there ever was.

_:Well, maybe not _that_ great, but close enough.:_

He smiled into her mane. "I don't care. Let's go to Haven?" he asked plaintively. "Before someone stops us."

_:I'd like to see them try.:_

~


	2. II

Woot! Another chapter!! But can you blame me? It's summer! Like there's anything else to do. Plus the niiiice reviewers made me feel all warm inside from their lovely comments. *gives you all imaginary cookies*

** ::The world of Valdemar belongs to Mercedes Lackey, and not me, sadly.::**

:...::SABLE DREAMS::...:

~by Sanomi~

CHAPTER TWO

Sable did not like leather. He liked sitting on it even worse. It was one thing to use it for stable gear; there weren't many other materials that could hold up the strain. But when leather was used just for chairs... He shuddered. Companions looked a lot like horses. And here was a horse skinned just for the sake of making a chair look nice. In the hands of some sick person (*cough*JEREN*cough) they would very well make a companion into a leather chair. Insert gagging noises here. 

It was safe to say that the Dean of the Herald trainees was not making a good impression on him.

:_Chosen, you're being unfair to him. It's not Dean Petro's fault that you object to his taste.:_

:_Surely you see the wrongness of killing horses for the sake of fashion?:_ Over the trip to Haven (Which was longer than normal, since it was almost sunset when they had left, so they had to stop at a waystation.) Sable had a chance to practice his new talent at mindspeech. It was still pretty new to him, but Afodel told him he was coming along quite nicely. She also said some stuff about shields and centering and other things, but it just confused him.

_:Whining doesn't become you, dear. Besides, you know very well that most leather is made of cows and sheep.:_

_:But it's-- it's the principal of the thing!:_

_:Suuuuure... Now, Dearie, why don't you tell me why you're looking for excuses to dislike Dean Petro?: _This was asked in a sugary sort of voice that nearly gave Afodel herself a toothache.

_:Am not!:_

_:Are too!:_

_:Am not!:_

_:Are too!:_

_:Am not times a hundred!:_

_:Are too times infini-- Ack. I will not argue with you like a five-year old child!: _She said sternly, conveniently forgetting she has been doing so for the past minute. 

He projected a mental pout at her, and reluctantly focused back on the Dean.

"Your name and place of origin, lad?" Petro pretended to not have noticed the boy's lapse in attention.

"Sable -- from The Shining Ray Inn, not half a day's ride from here."

"No last name, then?" Petro smiled kindly. "Not to worry--" 

Sable scowled. "I'm no bastard! My mother and father were legitimately wed. But now that I'm free of them, I don't intend to have anything more to do with my family." He spat the last word as if it were a foul taste in his mouth.

If Dean Petro had been the kind of man who was taken aback by hatred, he would have raised an eyebrow at Sable. But he wasn't. So he didn't. And Sable wasn't annoyed, of course, with the non-existent raised eyebrow. He might have been, if it was there. But it wasn't, just to let you know.

"Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." 

The dean sighed inwardly: this was going to be one of the tough cases. "I'll just call in somebody to show you to your room, and give you a tour of the palace."

"Fine."

He yanked on a bell pull Sable hadn't noticed. Almost instantly, a blonde head popped into the room.

"Ya wanted something Petro?"

"Sani, would you show Sable here around the palace and set up a room for him, please?"

"Sure!" the cheerful girl responded. "C'mon then, Sabbie, let's get going." She winked. "Don't worry, I don't bite. Much."

Sable's hand reflexively went to the scar on his throat, and he shuddered.

Sani blinked and looked at him oddly. "Just kidding," she added.

~~~

"Right then, through these doors is the library. It's open to anyone, so's long as you take good care of the books, that is." She chuckled as she pushed the doors open. "Loy got banned for a month for setting one shelves on fire with his firestarting gift. Couldn't get his homework done properly at all! Serves him right, though."

Sable wasn't paying attention. He was staring, jaw dropped, at the shelves and shelves of books. "You-you're saying-- anyone can read these?"

She nodded. "Yup."

"Any of them?" he persisted. "Anyone can?"

Grinning, Sani said, "I take it you're a bookworm like me. Anytime you want to come, I'll show you the way and point out where all the good books are." She smirked. "I know where everything in here is. It's almost too bad I'm going to be the next Dean; it would have been fun being the librarian."

"Huh--wha?"

It took her a moment to translate this, then she replied, "How do I know? Well, my gift is foresight."

"That's where you see the future, right?" he offered tentatively.

"More like just bits and flashes of it, but close enough." She turned to look at him. "How 'bout I show you the companion's field now? That's where all the companions stay. You can keep your glorified pony company until supper."

He gave a blindingly brilliant smile. "Could I?" Sable breathed hopefully.

"Of course!" Sani laughed, and trotted on her way, leaving him to hurry after.

~~~

Sable buried his face in his companion's mane, finally relaxing for the first time that day. 

Sani was certainly a strange one, he reflected. She talked a lot, but not without purpose. She didn't gab about pointless things, like the innkeeper's wife. Sani just had a lot to say, Sable supposed.

_:Or so she would like you to think,: _Afodel told him with a laugh in her mental voice.

He chuckled, but went on more seriously. _"_Things are so different here! My room was bigger than the kitchen back at the Inn. And everyone looks so _happy_." 

_:A side-effect of having a companion.:_

Sable ruffled her mane playfully. "Of course it is."

Afodel fixed him with a bright blue eye. _:Is that sarcasm I detect?:_

He contrived to look innocent. "Me? Sarcastic?" She snorted knowingly.

At that moment, a bell tolled, and the herald trainee groaned. "That's the dinner bell, like Sani said."

_:Do you have to go?:_ the companion asked.

"Don't worry, I'll try and see you after dinner. And there's always tomorrow." He shook out the leaves in his tunic, grateful that Sani had taken him to the seamstress so he could get some new clothes. He'd only the threadbare clothes on his back when he'd arrived. "Besides, I'm only a thought away!"

_:Now what cliché-filled storybook did you get _that_ out of?: _Was Afodel's parting shot.

Sable grinned. Now all he had to do was not get lost on the way to the dining hall.

~

~Emerald Flame~~ Thanks! ^.^ As you can see, I have updated! And yeah, Sable does tend to say stuff like "the bad thing." He doesn't like mentioning it, even in his mind.

~Dezzybaby~~ I'm glad you liked the summary! Heheh, I thought of it when I went to bed, so I had to get up a write it down. My moments of inspiration always seem to come right before I fall asleep!

~Senashenta~~ Lol, I was gonna do the usual "(insert name) I choose you," but the penguin of inspiration squawked at me, so I had to change it.

~Amy~~ Yups, poor Sable! But things will get better.

~Etcetera-cat~~ Yeah! Girls with attitude rock! XD And that includes you, Teva!

~Jeanne~~ Thank you, I will!

~Meg~~ Really? That's good to know! I tend to have problems with the flow of my writing.

~Morninglight~~ But of course! ^_~

~ImagineThat~~ Yep, Jeren is a baka. A total ahou. But maybe I didn't get the whole relationship across clearly. See, Jeren is about 4 years older than Sable. And he's his uncle. Jeren is the brother to Sable's mom. So that makes Sable his nephew. Technically. There are certainly no feelings of love and respect, etc, involved. *glares at Jeren who is hogtied in a closet* Kisama.


	3. III

Another chapter! Woot! XD Time to introduce more characters! Mwahahahaha.

**::The world of Valdemar belongs to Mercedes Lackey, and not me, sadly.::**

:...::SABLE DREAMS::...: 

~by Sanomi~

CHAPTER THREE

_Oh my..._

That was the first thing that came to mind when Sable entered the common room. He had no idea there were that many herald trainees. It was... madness. Noise and bustle and-- and... wow. That much cheerfulness could not be natural. Sani had, of course, shown it to him before, but it hadn't been so crowded then!

Timidly, he followed what the others were doing, and got a tray. There was a line-up in the kitchen to get food. _They probably wouldn't give us very much food_, Sable reflected. _It would be hard to feed all these mouths. They probably think the trainees are a waste of space. We're not useful until we get our whites..._

While he'd been thinking, the line had moved up, and now it was his turn to get served. His eyes nearly popped out of his head. The... person... for lack of a better description, was monstrous. He couldn't tell whether it was a man or a woman. Either way the cook had bulging cords of muscle and towered over the trainees. "**Well?**" he/she barked. "**What do you want?**"

Sable shrank in on himself. "Um," he squeaked. "It's-it's okay-- I-I-I'm fine."

Amazingly, the giant seemed to soften a bit. "**New, then?"** it rumbled. "**You look like you need to be getting fed up. Nothin' but bone, you are.**" And proceeded to pile heaps of food on his plate. Thick slices of ham with gravy dribbling off it, rich mashed potatoes covered in the same gravy, two slices of crispy bread still warm from the oven and covered in melted butter, a pile of crunchy vegetables, and an entire bowl of lemon pudding.

He was almost staggering with the weight of the food as he tried to find a table.

"Sable! Hey, Sable!" somebody called. He looked and saw Sani waving from a table by the windows. "Come sit with us!"

Seeing no other option, as every other table appeared to be full, he carefully made his way over to her and her friends. Sani had pulled up a chair next to her and indicated that he should sit in it.

"Gods, did you eat out the whole kitchen?" A redheaded boy asked with a raised eyebrow.

Sable looked at his tray. "I don't know," he answered plaintively. "The cook just--put them there."

The boy shook his head. "Crazy."

"Oh, lay off, Tolri," said another boy. This one had copper-brown hair and amazingly gold eyes. 

Sani rapped her fork on the table. "Listen up! I'll do the introductions. Everybody, this is Sable. He's a new herald trainee." She turned to him. "What's your companion's name?"

"Uh, Afodel."

She raised an eyebrow. "Really? She finally chose, then. My companion is Linna. The redhead over there, if you didn't catch his name, is Tolri, he's Caffa's chosen." Tolri rolled his eyes. "The boy sitting next to him is Kav, with companion Taya."

The boy who had told Tolri to lay off drew himself up with mock dignity. "I'll have you know I am a man!" The others at the table snorted disbelievingly. "What? I am!"

"Right, Kav, whatever you say. Anyways, that's Andra over there, her companion is Gerin." Andra grinned at him and tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder. "And over here is Brent, and Pamer is his companion." The brown hair-and-eyed trainee smiled good-naturedly. "And that's all of us!" Sani beamed happily.

"Give it up! Can we just eat, already?" Tolri asked, disgruntled.

She gave him a Look. "Nobody's stopping you." Yes, a Look, with capital 'L.' The kind that was directed at you when you've done something very displeasing to someone of the female gender... Poor Tolri; he was really in for it.

Sable's stomach rumbled. Suddenly, the interactions of his tablemates were far less interesting than the contents of his plate. He ate neatly, and with the use of a fork, but the food disappeared very quickly, all the same.

"My gods, man! You look like you've seen a ten-year famine!" Golden-eyes, as Sable's brain had seemed to take a liking to calling Kav, exclaimed.

Sable blinked. His plate was empty. That happened a lot faster then he'd thought it would. "It's polite to eat what's given to you," he mumbled eventually. But he couldn't help looking mournfully at his empty plate. He was still hungry.

"When was the last time you ate?" Kav inquired. He actually looked worried. Sable wondered why.

"Er--" His eyes glazed over as he tried to remember. "Yesterday morning--I think." He paused. "Yes, it was. I remember now. It was a slice of bread."

The lovely golden-eyes looked shocked. "How can you function on so little food? I would have passed out!"

Well, it was something one got used to over time, and he'd been running on mostly adrenaline that day. He did have the option to eat at the waystation he and Afodel had spent the night at (since it was nearly sunset already when they'd left the Inn). Not that he would tell them that. 

Sable settled for answering with a shrug. "I'm eating now," he pointed out, and promptly started eating his pudding. Gods, it was good pudding. Although his opinion wouldn't count for much, considering he could count the number of times he'd had pudding on one hand and still have fingers left over. 

The taste of lemon was refreshingly tart, with a hint of sweetness that made it bearable. Thick and creamy, he tried to savor the taste, licking the spoon clean slowly and thoroughly with each bite. But sadly, his spoon struck nothing edible soon enough. So he resorted to using his fingers to scoop up any lingering traces and sucking them off his said appendages. 

Finally, his bowl was empty, and he smiled contentedly. Then squeaked. The others were looking at him with a great deal of... hunger? At least, Tolri and Andra and --KAV?! It was like they were eating him with their eyes! And Sani and Brent were staring at him with more just interest. 

"Gods," Tolri said with fervently, green eyes wide. "That was the best show I've seen in-- Gods. Ever."

Andra mumbled something distractedly. It sounded like an agreement.

"Havens, I'm not shaych and even _I'm _effected!" Brent gasped.

"What?!" Sable squeaked again.

Sani seemed to gain control of herself. "Settle down, guys! Can't you see you're scaring him?"

Tolri blinked and leaned over the table. "You _cannot_ tell me that was innocent!" He exclaimed. Determinedly, he looked into Sable's wide, uncomprehending eyes. "Er-- then again maybe you can..."

Sable, needless to say, was confused, but he let it drop. That sort of thing happened sometimes, but he tried not to worry about now. He was... safe here. Or as safe as he could be surrounded by strangers that could do who-knows-what given the chance. From what he'd understood, they were allowed privacy in their rooms, so he was okay there. And he was definitely safe with Afodel. It even seemed he get three full meals a day, amazingly enough. Being a trainee was most certainly an improvement...

"Oi, Sable!" Andra leaned over the table to wave a hand in front of his face. "Haven to Sable-- you there?"

"Er--what?"

Tolri rolled his eyes. "We were _asking _you how close your bond is with your companion."

"Huh?" Sable replied articulately. Why were they including him into their conversation? They had let him sit at their table, made the introductions; they had proved that they were 'Kind People Being Nice To The Poor New Trainee.' It was something he'd seen often before. The hand of friendship offered only to be snatched back the moment their point was proven. So what were they doing?

"Can you communicate with Afodel?" Kav elaborated.

"...Yes?"

"In words?" Golden-eyes pressed.

Sable nodded slowly. 

"Up to what distance?" Brent inquired.

"I don't--I can talk to her in the dean's office when she's in the stables... Is--is that a good thing?" he added.

"You're lucky!" Kav exclaimed. "I can only talk to Taya when I'm in contact with her."

"Right..." Sable still didn't know what to make of these people, so he opted to escape. "Um, it's getting late and I'm tired, I think I'll go to bed." He got up hastily and deposited his plates and tray where he saw the others doing so. It was time to go to bed; sleep, at least, didn't confuse him.

~~~

"I know it's late, Sani, but I need to know what your opinion is of the new trainee."

The female trainee smirked. "Other then 'yumm'?"

Dean Petro rolled his eyes. "Seriously."

"Well he is delicious. And he has no idea whatsoever. Really, I don't think his self confidence is all that high."

Petro nodded slowly. "And?"

"Well... He looks half-starved; enough so that even Cook gave him extra food."

The dean raised his eyebrows. "Indeed?" A smile hovered over his lips. "Cook's intuition is so strong I'm half convinced it is a gift we don't know about."

She chuckled a bit. "So... why do you want to know about him?"

"Frankly, I'm worried. I've been talking to my Ona, and she's been in touch with Afodel." Petro leaned forward intently. "When she found Sable he was being attacked. Their bond isn't that strong yet, but Afodel thinks it wasn't the first time it happened."

"...That would explain the cut on his cheek... I didn't want to say anything, but that cut looked pretty bad."

The dean nodded again. "Yes. That's why I was hoping you'd take him under your wing, so to speak."

"Already done. But I think you should make Kav his actual mentor."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"Weeeelll... For one, Kav _likes_ him."

"Sani! The boy might not be shaych."

"Well, Kav won't make a move until his knows for sure that Sable is." She shrugged. "And Kav has more time than I do to help Sable out; though I'll do what I can. Besides, he's already providing escort service." The blonde chuckled again.

"What?"

~~~

Sable was feeling very nervous. Why was Kav walking with him to his room? Was he hoping to get a chance to attack Sable? "Why are you following me?" he asked finally.

Golden-eyes looked at him in surprise. "Isn't it obvious?" Sable frowned at him and he smiled in reply. "I'm playing bodyguard. Some of the blues like to pick on the new trainees, you know."

That there were bullies, Sable could understand. But why then was Kav bothering to protect him... "Why do you care?" He asked bluntly. 

Kav actually seemed a little hurt. "I don't like bullies taking advantage of people."

"Oh." A personal vendetta against bullies? Strange, but plausible. "Alright then. Um, my room's here." He hesitated, but then said. "Thank you, I guess."

Kav smiled sweetly. "No problem." He stepped very close to the other trainee, making him freeze in panic. "You should get a healer to see that." He softly touched the cut on Sable's cheek.

The older boy had very beautiful eyes, Sable suddenly noticed. Such a bright hue of gold...

The copper-brown haired trainee finally seemed to realize how close they were. He blushed a bright red and ran off, leaving behind a very confused Sable. Not that confusion was a new thing to him.

"What... what was that about?" He shook his head and entered his room, locking the door behind him.

:_Afodel__?: he Sent tentatively. :_Do_ _you have any idea what just happened?:__

_:Zzzz... Hm wha?:_

_:...Nevermind.:_ He sighed. She'd been asleep, so that was no help. _:Good night.:_

_:'Night, love...zzz...:_

Sable decided it wasn't worth agonizing over (not yet, anyways). And decided he might as well get some rest. It had been a rather trying day.

_But why do I suddenly care how bright his eyes were and how kind he was to protect me from any bullies that might be around?_

~

~Etcetera-cat~~ Cowhide. Right. I will remember this. Not horsehide.

~Gloria~~ ^_^ Here's more!

~AtheneMiranda~~ ~.^;;; Yeah, you're right about the not researching part, unfortunately. *scratches the back of head sheepishly* I started the story on a whim. I'm glad you like my characters, though. And yeah, the plot is less then original, but I didn't really intend it to be spectacular, just another little story for entertainment. Although I will try to make things more believable.

~ImagineThat~~ Okay, I'll keep the correction in mind. Sorry, about the short chapters, but I'm keeping them all about 6 pages each in Microsoft Word. I'm not certain how long the story's going to be, since I haven't quite decided where I'm going to go with it. Have any suggestions for me? But him getting over everything that happened is a good estimate I guess.

~Waku-chan~~ Thank you, and here's the next chapter!

~Rei Kobayashi~~ o.O;; Um... what? I'm sorry. I don't really understand your messages. Are you speaking of something outside of this fanfics? -.-;; Sadly, my memory is the worst thing this side of senility, so you'll have to remind me... 

~Tee Dee~~ Great fic? Oh stop, you're making me blush! And here, I've updated. ^.^

~Evar~~ Lol. Yeah, 'Del would have done exactly that if the angle had been right. *grins maliciously* Unfortunately, I'm going to need Jeren and his... parts... later on.

~Ashes Lady~~ Thanks! ^.^ I'll try to.


	4. IV

Eh, I won't be replying to every single review anymore... Sorry folks, but there's too many now, and it takes up so much room! ^_^;;; I love you all for reviewing though! And I will respond if you've asked a question, or something equally likely to make me want to comment. ^.^;;;

You can now find reviews replies at the end of the story; I wanted a bit of a change. Also, I've done some editing on chapters 1-3. You may want to re-read the chapters, cuz some things changed are a bit important, even if it may not seem like it.

::**The**** world of Valdemar (which I just now remembered is called Velgarth) sadly belongs to Mercedes Lackey, not ****me**.::

:...::SABLE DREAMS::...:

~by Sanomi~

CHAPTER FOUR

_He was eleven. Twelve, really. It was his birthday. His mother had somehow managed for him to get the night off working at the inn. And had actually given him a book for his birthing-gift!_

_So he was in the corner of the pantry, avidly reading the tale of Lord Valdemar and the Founding. He was so absorbed that he didn't hear the footsteps approaching the small room, and only looked up when the door slammed open. "J-Jeren!" he stuttered._

_The older boy snarled at him, and furiously began to organize the shelves. Sable blinked; Jeren really was in a foul mood. He considered leaving his Uncle to his fuming, but curiosity made him stay._

**_:No_****_!: Sable screamed within his mind. :Leave while you have the chance!:_**

_His younger self gave no evidence of hearing, and kept a wondering eye on Jeren as he pretended to continue reading his book. Finally, he opened his mouth to speak._

**_: Don't do this!:_**

_"What's wrong?"_

_The other boy slammed a bag of sugar onto a shelf. "Nothing! Not one gods-damned thing!" He ground out._

_Sable tried to remember what had happened that day. His eyebrows rose as a thought sparked. "Asana? Asana turned you down?"_

**_:No_****_!: An anguished cry._**

_He should have known better than to provoke Jeren. How could he have been so stupid? He should have left!_

_His uncle whirled around angrily and advanced on him. "Think that's funny, don't you," he hissed._

_Sable should have known how close Jeren was to his breaking point._

_"N-no--"_

_"You like it that Asana refused me? You just love it, don't you? You can make it up to me, then." The older boy's voice was soft and deadly. He reached for Sable with a dark intent in his eyes._

"NO!"

Sable sat up in his bed, shaking like a leaf. Sweat soaked his nightshirt as he gasped for breath. "That dream again..." He groaned, and buried his face in his hands. He was surprised to find his cheeks wet with tears. "How long's it been since I last cried...?" He wondered out loud. The trainee clenched his fists until his nails bit into his palms.

Abruptly, Sable rose out of bed, and went over to the window. He liked being on the second floor; it meant he could look out over the palace gardens without having bushes obscure his view. The window was open, and he breathed deeply of the warm summer air. For some reason, having it closed made him feel claustrophobic. He took a sharp breath. No, that wasn't true. He knew why he couldn't stand being in enclosed rooms; it was because of what happened.

He rested his hands on the windowsill and bowed his head. After what had happened... Sable gripped the sill so tightly it hurt and in a fit of temper he made himself admit it out loud. "Jeren raped me." 

He shivered. Was it just his imagination, or did it suddenly get colder? 

No matter. He lifted his face to let the wind dry his tears. Sometimes, like at that moment, it was hard to care. Why should he, if no one else did? Yes, it had hurt. A lot. He'd even had the feeling that Jeren himself had felt as if he'd gone too far in brutally taking away the last of his innocence. 

Jeren, regretting causing Sable pain? He snorted softly.

_:__Chosen__,:_ A voice suddenly said in his mind, and the trainee jumped. _:Something__ is bothering you.:_

_:It's__ nothing for you to worry about,:_ he assured her.

_:That's__ not true. Your pain is resonating down our bond...:_

Sable blinked, surprised. _:You__ can sense what I feel?:_

_:Yes__. It's hurts me, too, you know. I don't want you to be unhappy.:_

_:I__... not right now. I can't tell you right now.:_ It was true about feeling emotions. He could feel her disappointment and hurt like a sharp blade to his heart. Then the link was broken and he was alone again.

"Sorry, Afodel..."

What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he do anything right? All of it was his fault anyway; he should know better!

And now he had caused the only person who loved him pain. How could she have chosen him to be a Herald? He was already messing things up, and it was only his first day! 

~~~

Kav couldn't sleep.

Now that, in itself, was no big deal. He was a night owl; he slept better during the day than at night.

The problem was that his mind wouldn't rest and kept running around in circles, worrying. Worrying about things he really had no control over. It was really annoying.

The trainee was not made for worrying. He much preferred allowing things to happen in their own time. But his brain wasn't letting him! "Gah!" Kav gave up and got out of bed. "Nothin' else for it, I guess." He pulled on his boots, grabbing a candle to light the way to the Companion's Field. Maybe he could relax enough with Taya to get some sleep.

He ghosted through the hallways, trying to make as little noise as possible. Usually there was at least _someone_ awake and about at this time, considering the very flexible (i.e. crazy) schedule most heralds kept, but right then it appeared he was very much alone. "Fardling creepy," he muttered to himself. 

Still, it was better then being sent back to his room, or walking in on something he did _not_ want to see.

He shuddered at the memory of seeing two Heralds being... _intimate_, to put it mildly. Kav had nearly gagged at the sight; couldn't people remember to close their doors?! Gods, the _last_ thing he wanted to see was a naked woman!

"Eww..."

Although, the man had been rather attractive... He'd always had a thing for dark-haired men. He snorted and shook his head. The man wouldn't have been interested and was too old besides.

When he arrived, he could see Taya was waiting for him at the fence and she whickered a greeting. "You knew all along, huh?" He grinned at her, and placed a hand on her neck.

_:Of__ course. I_ am _an all-knowing_ _Companion, you know. Feel free to worship me...:_

"Yeah, right." He snorted.

_:Spoilsport__. So why are you still awake? Didn't the healers give you some herbs for your chronic insomnia?:_

"You know I hate taking that stuff. I'll sleep once I've got nothin' to worry about."

He sensed her give a mental sigh. :_What__ is it this time?:_

"Meh, just petty stuff. Trying to keep my studies up, and I just can't seem to get a hang of archery at all..."

:_And__ a pretty new Herald trainee who happened to catch your fancy...:_

"Oi! That's private information!"

:_Privacy__? Between a Herald and his Companion?:_ She snickered. :_Good__ luck.:_

Kav resisted the urge to pout. "Besides, he's not pretty, he's beautiful!"

_:Lovely__ sentiment_.: Taya said with dry humor, before getting serious. :_Be__ careful, dear heart. Not even Afodel knows what dark things may lie in his past. He won't confide in her.:_

"Oh, Taya, I just met him!" He shook his head and smiled at her over-exaggeration. "You're making a mountain out of a mole-hill."

She wasn't so sure. :_Mmm_.:

"Anyway, he's probably not even shaych. I would never do anything unless I was certain, that's for sure." He twined his fingers in her soft mane. "He seemed so fragile and scared, though. I think what he needs most is a friend... I'll settle for that." Kav tried to make himself believe that as he said it.

They stood in silence for a while, soaking in the comfort of each other's presence, until his stomach growled loudly.

:_Trainees__ and their bottomless stomachs... Just go to get a snack and then go to bed, will you?:_

"Yes, mother," he laughed. Maybe he really would be able to get some sleep. He even found himself humming on the way to the kitchen. The rolls would taste good, for sure, since he'd been the one who had made them.

Unlike other trainees, he found that cooking was actually quite enjoyable. Although that have something to do with him upbringing... 

Whatever the reason, he liked cooking well enough. He'd gotten enough compliments on it before that he knew other liked his cooking, too.

Life was good.

~~~

Sable hadn't moved from the window. It was hard to go back to sleep after bad dreams, and the sky outside was beautiful...

Maybe once he was settled in more he could see about getting a chair to put under the window. The room was still very sparse.

He chuckled a little to himself. If only his mother could see him now. A few days ago he'd been living in the tiny storage closet by the stables, and now he had his own room and was even contemplating furnishing it further! The trainee frowned a little sadly. 

Despite her many failings, Bryna was still his mother. He sighed. 

And, no matter how unwise, he did love her. Sable just hoped she was all right. But he _had_ left her a note, and the dean said they'd contact her to let her know what was going on.

That would have to be enough.

He blinked. There was someone crossing the garden path. "Who would be up this late at night?" Sable squinted, trying to see whom it was. A Heraldic trainee, at the very least, by the gray clothing.

"Hmph. Probably just sneaking out to see his Companion." 

Strangely enough, the person reminded him of golden-eyed Kav. Must have something to do with his energetic way of walking. He'd never thought it was possible for a person to actually _bounce_ with energy. Very odd.

~

Fireblade K'Chona~ *blinks* I've only just now remembered that because you said it. *blush* Oops. Er, don't tell anyone, okay? We'll just say that things were done a little differently before Vanyel's time...

Waku-chan~ If you do actually illustrate it, can I see??? It would be awesome to have an illustration for this story! ^__^

cookxenya~ o.O Yes, I can tell. I'm glad you like it...?

colie~ Ona was just a name I made up on the spur of the moment (That's how I come up with most of my character's names). But yeah, I do sorta know that it means woman... But I never really thought of that when I came up with it. Thanks for pointing it out to me! Not changing the name, though. :P

Cathryn M. Guthrie~ Yes. Yes, I am evil. And i-n-vu50 is also very evil for the cliffhangers. But the evil guys have more fun, no?

psycho tabby cat~ Wow, you're so nice! Saying such flattering things, a girl might get a big ego! ^_^


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